A liquid crystal cell used in a liquid crystal display apparatus capable of displaying a color image mostly performs a color display by additive color mixture, using a color filter of three primary colors: red, green, and blue. However, the refractive index of light in liquid crystal varies depending upon the color, so that there arises a problem called a color shift in that a screen of a liquid crystal display apparatus looks in different colors depending upon the viewing angle when the liquid crystal display apparatus is viewed from an oblique direction. In order to prevent such a color shift, a liquid crystal cell having a multi-gap structure has been proposed. This liquid crystal cell uses a technology in which the thickness of a liquid crystal layer, i.e., the cell gap is varied depending upon the color. However, even when a liquid crystal cell having a multi-gap structure is used, a low contrast, which is a defect of the liquid crystal display apparatus, cannot be improved. As a technology of improving the contrast, there has been proposed a technology in which a light-shielding film is placed in an inclination area positioned at a boundary between a region in which the cell gap is larger and a region in which the cell gap is smaller (for example, Patent Document 1). This is a technology of preventing the decrease in contrast caused by light transmitting through or reflecting from the inclination area.
On the other hand, in a liquid crystal display apparatus used in a television receiver requiring an animation display or the like, a VA system and an IPS mode have become a mainstream recently, instead of a TN system and a STN system. Of those, according to the IPS mode, liquid crystal molecules contained in a liquid crystal layer are homogeneously aligned, and the alignment direction is changed in a plane thereof. Thus, the liquid crystal molecules do not rise obliquely in a liquid crystal cell, so that a change in optical properties depending upon the viewing angle of a screen is small, and a wider viewing angle compared with that according to the VA system is obtained. On the other hand, there is a problem that a contrast is lower than that according to the VA system. The IPS mode includes a system called an e-mode and a system called an o-mode. Of those, in the o-mode, an absorption axis of a polarizer placed on a light source side, i.e., on a liquid crystal layer side of a liquid crystal cell is directed in a direction substantially parallel to a major axis direction of liquid crystal molecules aligned homogeneously under no voltage application. Therefore, linearly polarized light generated when omniazimuth light emitted from a light source passes through the polarizer reaches a polarizer provided on a viewer side, i.e., a color filter side of the liquid crystal cell without changing a polarization state and a polarization direction. The absorption axis of the polarizer provided on the color filter side is directed in a direction substantially perpendicular to a major axis direction of the liquid crystal molecules, and hence, a contrast in an oblique direction decreases when the linearly polarized light passes through the polarizer.    Patent Document 1: JP 2004-354745 A